hardwood flooring installation

Does hardwood flooring have to be installed horizontally with the
longest (widest) part of a room ? Or can it be installed from the
shortest side of the room (narrowest) and then just worked all the way
down to the end of the room?
Thanks.

I've never seen any rules like that, and based on the installation in
homes I've had where hardwood was in every room, some rooms happened
to be short ended others on the long end. So I don't think it
matters.
I have seen that you want to acclimate the wood to the environment for
several days ahead of installation, and that you're better off
installing in the summer when things are more humid versus the dry of
winter.
Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net /

On standard surfaces (joists and subfloor) hardwood flooring
can be installed in any direction. Our L-shaped room has the
bulk of the flooring installed on the diagonal, surrounded by
three boards (two light and one dark) parallel to the walls. It
took extra time to lay (cutting all those extra 45-degree angles)
but looks superb and the contractor took photos to show off
to other customers.

The above recommendations are spot on. Real wood should go
perpendicular to the joists - engineered flooring isn't as limited. In
every installation I've seen (included the one I did in my own home) it
was laid perpendicular to the joists.
Another rule of thumb is to lay the boards "Parallel to the light
source and perpendicular to the direction of the light." In other
words, the wall with the greatest amount of windows (or at least the
windows which receive the largest amount of sunlight) is the one you'll
want to lay the boards parallel to, and therefore the run will end up
perpendicular to the incoming light from the windows. This reduces the
appearance of seams.

If you install it long way in a rectangular room the room will have the
illusion of being longer and skinnier, installing it from short side to
short will give the illusion of being wider, if you care about additional
structural strength install it perpendicular to the floor joist.
Joe

If one room transitions in to another, continue that direction into
the next room/closet.... Stand in the doorway to the room to help you
determine what is visually appealing. Someone mentioned diagonal and I
think there are no hard and fast rules. . We are just about finish
with 2500 sp ft of 5/8 x 5 1/8 maple T&G. Some rooms were different.
In a great room/master/office we rain it with the long wall. In the
main dining room we ran in with the short wall. (concrete
foundation). Other bedrooms were different, also.
--
Oren
"My doctor says I have a malformed public-duty gland
and a natural deficiency in moral fiber, and that I am therefore
excused from saving Universes."

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